For the first time since the United States entered a deep recession five years ago, 70% of Americans now say they believe global warming is a reality, according to researchers.

In a report released Thursday by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, authors wrote that America’s concern about global warming is now at its highest level since 2008, and that 58% of Americans expressed worries about it.

Photograph by Paul Nicklen

“Historically Americans have viewed climate change as a distant problem -- distant in time and distant in space -- and perceived that it wasn’t something that involved them,” said environmental scientist and lead author Anthony Leiserowitz. “That gap is beginning to close, however ... we’re seeing a jump in the number of people who believe it will affect them or their families.” Read more;